The Innovation
Founded in 2024, the Capital Workforce Innovation Consortium is a Next Generation Sector Partnership formed by the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services (DOES) and convened by BuildWithin. This initiative serves as an engine for aligning local talent with market demands through robust public-private partnerships, particularly in the technology and skilled trades sectors.
“At the Nation’s Capital, we play a crucial role in strengthening the United States’ global standing. Our focus is on aligning the abundant talent within our city with the needs of employers, ensuring that businesses have access to the skilled workforce required for growth, while DC residents secure meaningful, economically rewarding jobs. This alignment is key to driving our city’s and our nation’s progress.”– Dr. Morris-Hughes, Washington DC Secretary of Labor
The Consortium has 4 key initiatives:
- In the first pillar, the focus is on creating a skills-based jobs architecture for technology and skilled trades industries to:
• Catalog the skills required to perform jobs today and in the next 10 years
• Assess the training supply
• Analyze skills and training alignment - In the second pillar, the Consortium is developing an action engine designed to facilitate knowledge sharing, strengthen partnerships, and enhance collaborative efforts among employers, training providers, and public entities.
- The third pillar focuses on implementing key interventions to streamline the process for employers to interview and hire from local pools of trained talent.
- The fourth pillar introduces a continuous feedback system and evaluation for ongoing assessment and improvement of the engine.
Kenneth Walker, Washington DC DOES Deputy Director of Federal Workforce Programs, states:
“We see a major opportunity in aligning the diverse skills of our residents with the rapidly changing demands of today’s job market. The Consortium’s mission is to close the gap between employer needs and the skills of our workforce. By continuously enhancing our training programs to include stackable credentials and streamlining connections between training providers and employers, we ensure a more agile and responsive approach to the evolving job market.”
The goal of the Consortium is to create a dynamic and adaptable workforce capable of sustaining the District’s economic growth and meeting the evolving needs of its key industries.
The inaugural champions of the Capital Workforce Innovation Consortium include:
• The Economic Club of Washington DC
• DC Tech Startup Week
• DC Tech and Venture Coalition (DCTAV)
• The Golden Triangle Business Improvement District
• Downtown Business Improvement District
• The Latin American Youth Center
• Maya Angelou Education Center
• Center for Innovative Research, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (CIRTE)
• Academy of Hope
• Community College Preparatory Academy PCS
• National Association of Returning Citizens (NARC)
• Metropolitan Engineering Inc.
• Captivate
• Greater Washington Black Chamber of Commerce (GWBCC)
• Children Focus Foundation (CFF)
• Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GWHCC)
• The George Washington University
• The University of the District of Columbia
• Howard University
• Penn West Equity and Innovation District
• Atmos Solutions
Additionally, there are numerous other employers, organizations, and training providers involved.
Washington D.C., the United States Nation’s Capital
Washington, D.C., officially known as the District of Columbia, serves as the capital of the United States and its federal district. It embodies the essence of the nation’s rich history, its dynamic political life, and its diverse cultural tapestry, making it a central figure in shaping American identity and heritage. As the seat of the federal government, it is home to some of the most significant institutions of American democracy, including the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court, and numerous federal agencies.
Washington, D.C. also serves as a hub for international diplomacy, hosting embassies and international organizations, thereby enhancing its global significance. The city plays a vital role in shaping policies and dialogues that not only affect the United States but also have far-reaching impacts on the global stage.
For national security and the position of the U.S. globally, it is imperative that our nation’s capital has a workforce that is employed in great occupations and an employer community that has the workforce it needs to drive the economy forward.
There is demand and there is untapped supply.
Forbes ranks the D.C. region as the top place to pursue a career in technology, leading in IT employment, with 11.2% of the workforce engaged in information technology-related professions. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 377,500 new technology jobs are expected to open annually between 2024 and 2032, with many of these opportunities concentrated in the D.C. metro area.
The Consortium has prioritized the IT industry and the skilled trades not just for the abundance of jobs, but for the potential these roles offer in providing residents with pathways to upward mobility and long-term career growth. In fact, IT professionals in the region earn a median salary of $129,870, the second-highest in the United States.
“Our students are showing high interest in technology training and our participation in the Consortium is helping us be more aligned and strategic in our education programs. Our students want and need good jobs and the great news is that the region has them,” says Azalia Speight, Chief of Schools at Maya Angelou Adult Education Center in Ward 7 in Washington, D.C.
“In the dynamic landscape of the Washington DC metro area, the shortage of skilled technology and cybersecurity professionals is palpable, with sectors like government, defense contracting, finance, and healthcare facing acute shortages. As evidenced by reports such as CyberSeek, this talent deficit poses significant challenges but also opportunities to train DC residents for these jobs,” says Cedric Thompson, CEO of the Center for Innovation, Research and Transformation in Education.
“In the cybersecurity sector, the failure to cultivate a local workforce capable of meeting growing demands could leave critical infrastructure and data unprotected. As cyber threats increase in complexity and frequency, the absence of a competent cybersecurity workforce could lead to heightened vulnerabilities not only for local businesses and government agencies but also for the national security apparatus located within the district,” says Kevin Morgan, Executive Director of DC Tech and Venture Coalition and member of the Consortium.
The threat is so urgent, and the need for cybersecurity workers is so critical, that the White House established the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES) to address both the immediate and long-term cyber workforce needs. This approach mirrors the strategy employed to tackle the healthcare worker shortage during the pandemic, showcasing the Executive Branch’s urgency in addressing this critical issue.
At the Heart of It All
The Consortium activities take place across the District, with a center of operations at Penn West Equity and Innovation District.
“Situated in the nation’s capital, Penn West is a part of a close-knit community that is committed to leveraging technology and creative urban planning to chart the future of the American downtown,” says Elizabeth Packer, Manager of Penn West. With access to low-cost, highly flexible workspace; proximity to diverse tech talent, including local students from George Washington University and seven satellite universities from across the nation; and connections to government and policymakers, Penn West offers an inclusive and accessible location for all innovators. Initiatives like the Consortium make complete sense here.
The Consortium Model
The Capital Workforce Innovation Consortium follows the Next Generation Partnership model that has proven to be effective in workforce and economic development. Sector Partnerships allow for building collaborations among employers within the same industry sector, along with other stakeholders like educational institutions and workforce development agencies. A recent paper by Lawrence Katz of Harvard University (Katz et al., 2020) reviewed several rigorous evaluations of effective sector-based programs and noted the following characteristics:
- Effective training of workers for high-paying jobs and sectors
- The transferable and stackable skills generated by the trainings and obtained by the learners
- The reduction of employment barriers to high-wage sectors for minorities and underserved individuals
This model allows the Consortium to have systems thinking alignment by being:
- Industry-led, driven by a committed group of employer champions
- An organizing vehicle for multiple program partners to respond to industry priorities together
- Local
- Action-oriented with specific outcomes for employers and residents
Activities of the Consortium include:
- Competency Mapping between skills and job functions
- Skills Architecture for local employers
- Talent Matching
- Relevant Training for DC residents
- Future of Work sessions for the public: parents, counselors, educators, employers
- Training for Community-Based Organizations and Training Providers
Skills Up Institute
On June 6, 2024, the Consortium hosted the Skill Up Institute, attracting 114 participants eager to explore skills-based hiring techniques. The event focused on creating career pathways, building stackable credential programs, and using data to drive decision-making. The enthusiasm for this alignment initiative was palpable. Although the Consortium is just beginning, the potential is immense, and the energy within the workforce community is truly exciting.
